Sunlight Boosts IVF Success by Over A Third

A Belgian doctor tried to find a correlation between IVF treatment and weather. Nothing.

So he looked at the weather a month before the actual date of treatment. And that changed everything.

"The month before is what's important, because that's when the egg is already starting to grow and mature," says Dr. Frank Vandekerckhove, a reproduction specialist at University Hospital Ghent, explaining that exposure to more sunshine, higher temperatures and less rain boost IVF odds by 35 percent.

Vandekerckhove thinks Vitamin D or melatonin — both of which are elevated when you get more light — may be responsible for giving the reproductive system an assist. But he clarifies that his research only examined IVF births, not natural births.

The findings were presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology ( ESHRE) annual conference in Lisbon, Portugal, from June 14 to 17.

Our question: Does this mean couples will now consider taking a pre- conceptionmoon to prep for baby making? Any excuse for a vacation.